


A Rose by Any Other Name. . .

by Runespour



Series: Harry Potter x Batfam Crossovers (that I really don't have time for but am writing anyway) [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Female Harry Potter, Fluff and Angst, Gratuitous Swearing, Hurt/Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Robin, Protective Jason Todd, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:23:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22730146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runespour/pseuds/Runespour
Summary: What would happen if Jason grew up with a sibling, someone he trusted implicitly, and a nasty case of protective older brother syndrome? What if Harry had a loving family, a Gotham Accent, and a perpetually Bad Attitude? Join Harry and Jason as they find themselves and a new family big enough for both of them and all the other strays that Bruce picks up along the way.
Relationships: Barbara Gordon & Harry Potter, Harry Potter & Bruce Wayne, Harry Potter & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Series: Harry Potter x Batfam Crossovers (that I really don't have time for but am writing anyway) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634485
Comments: 29
Kudos: 533





	1. Chapter 1

Harry dive tackled Cedric in pure instinct, feeling the sickly green spell fly just over her head. Cedric hit the ground with a surprised grunt, but Harry turned her dive into a roll, whipping out her wand as she went.

“Get out of the way ya dumbass!” Harry hissed at the older boy and shot several wordless charms back at the rat bastard. Pettigrew let out a pathetic yelp and nearly dropped the bundle he was carrying, backtracking away from the oncoming spells.

“What’s going on?” Cedric shouted in panic as Harry erected the strongest protego she could manage to protect them both from Pettigrew’s returning fire. The idiot had yet to cast anything yet.

“Best guess? Karkaroff is a bitch ass narc who's gonna get what’s comin ta him.” Harry replied angrily as Cedric finally pulled his shit together and started returning fire.

“What does that even mean?” Cedric asked as he started to focus on the matter at hand. Harry rolled her eyes and grinned savagely as a particularly dark (but still legal, Harry checked) curse landed on the rat’s leg. 

“It means we gotta beat the shit outa this asshat, figure out how to get back ta Hogwarts, and hunt down whoever sabotaged the portkey. Preferably without getting our asses handed ta us in return.” Harry replied through gritted teeth, her scar fuckin _burned_. Judging by the liquid slipping down her forehead, she was willing to bet it started bleeding again.

“Since when do you have an accent?” Cedric asked, clearly focusing on the important part of the conversation. Harry breathed out through her nose and blocked another one of Pettigrew’s curses.

“I have no such thing. The way I see it, everyone else has an accent. Sometimes when I’m stressed I slip back into my childhood vernacular.” Harry made a conscious effort to keep her British accent and conjured a set of throwing knives in her left hand. The moment he put up another powerful magic shield, she whipped them at the pudgy man. The blades passed seamlessly through the shield designed to block spells and sunk into his shoulder, chest, and leg. Pettigrew went down with a scream. Wuss.

“Where did you learn that?” Cedric gave her an alarmed look.

“From my older brother.” Harry shrugged as they cautiously approached the whimpering man. Cedric threw a body bind at the fugitive and winced when it put a painful amount of tension on the knives still embedded in his body.

“I didn’t know you have a brother.” Cedric replied, clearly trying not to look at the strung-up man. 

“I mean. He’s dead so had would be more accurate.” Harry replied with a shrug as she walked over to where the bundle of cloth was lying on the ground. 

“What? Oh my god, I’m so sor-” The embarrassed, shocked, and slightly ashamed look on his face made Harry snort.

“Please. You didn’t kill him, and no one seems to care that the rest of my family was violently murdered in front of me when I was a small child. Why should the fact that my brother was violently murdered a little bit later draw such shock and pity-” Harry cut off with a yelp and dodged right, narrowly avoiding the lunging fangs of a giant snake. Cedric swore and barely had time to bring his wand up before a loud BANG! Had him flinching away. When he looked back, The snake was missing its head, bits of flesh littered the ground around where the head should have been. If it wasn’t for the fact that Cedric had been too nervous to eat this morning, he’s sure he would have thrown up. 

“What the heck was that?” He demanded, turning to Harry who had some sort of small muggle device in her hand. 

“Never seen a gun before?” Harry asked off-handedly as she approached the bundle with much more caution and attention. 

“A what?” Cedric was somewhere between baffled and horrified.

“It’s a muggle toy- HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT THE FUCK?!?!” Harry had been in the process of carefully poking the bundle with her wand when she suddenly shrieked and jumped back.

“What is it?” Cedric rushed over.

“Its some sorta demented fucking alien demon baby! Oh fuck I touched it with my wand. I’m never using this wand again it's probably infected with creepy alien demon germs.” Harry ranted as she dropped her wand in disgust. Cedric moved to see for himself when Harry shrieked again.

“NO! DON’T TOUCH IT! FUCKING BURN IT! BURN IT WITH FIRE!” Harry shouted. 

“Um okay?” Cedric pulled out his wand and glanced at her.

“Are you sure?” Harry stared at him incredulously and snatched his wand out of his hand, ignoring his shout of protest, and turned toward the bundle. Without hesitation, she shouted

“FIENDFYRE!” And Cedric could only watch in horror as fire erupted from his wand, taking the shape of a giant bird, before mauling the bundle of fabric. An unholy scream broke out from the flame and a black ghostly tornado of energy burst from the flames and made to attack them. Cedric tripped backward, staring in horror at his impending doom. The fiendfyre however, was not done with the apparition yet. It raised its wings and launched itself at the apparition, fiery talons outstretched with malevolent intent of its own. 

“ITS TIME TO GO!” Harry shouted less hysterically than before. Cedric numbly let Harry shove him to his feet and toward the tied up Pettigrew, who was watching the rapidly expanding fire in horror.

“What about your wand?” Cedric found himself asking distractedly as he too stared at the horrifying fire.

“It’s Krum’s so he can worry about getting it back on his own. Asshole tried to kill me earlier.” Harry muttered and shoved him practically on top of the still bleeding Pettigrew. Then glared at rat-man.

“Will the Cup take us out of here?” She demanded icily. Pettigrew nodded feverishly. Without another word, she summoned the cup and grabbed both of them. They vanished a moment before the raging inferno caught up with them. 

. . . 

~ 7 Years Earlier ~

“Freda Smith?” A kind white woman with expensive-looking blonde hair and glasses looked down at her sheet and frowned, marking an absent on the sheet.

“She’s right there teacher lady” A little girl (Jenna?) sitting crossed legged in front of called out and pointed to a little redheaded girl in the back row. The little girl had short cropped flaming red hair that looked like it had been cut with a knife or some other sharp instrument. She was dressed in thin, worn clothes that were a little too big or small, and had seen better days. The girl hadn’t spoken to her or any other student yet in the time Ms. Jones had been here. The redhead’s perpetual scowl deepened.

“Thank you, Jenna, but please raise your hand next time. Are you Freda?” Ms. Jones asked the little unidentified redhead with a frown.

“That’s not my name.” The girl said with a scowl.

“Yes, it is. You’re Freda!” The little girl in the front row blurted out angrily.

“Please raise your hand if you want to speak Jenna. Now, can you tell me what your name is miss?” Ms. Jones gave her kindest smile to the little redhead and was surprised when her green eyes narrowed and her face scrunched up.

“It's not _Freda_.”

“Well, how about you tell me when I call on you?” Ms. Jones asked with a smile and watched the girl nod, face still tight.

Five minutes later, the roll call was done, and the girl did not indicate that her name was called. Out of the five children absent, Freda was the only female name on the list. Ms. Jones settled the children into a morning snack of Goldfish and then sat herself down next to the small girl.

“Can you tell me your name now?” The little girl scowled at her but didn’t answer. 

“Did you lie to me earlier when I asked what your name was?” Ms. Jones decided that she needed to be stern with this girl. She may be a new teacher, but she’d read up on teaching in an inner-city school like Gotham. Children needed to respect you, and trust you if you wanted them to learn. She would punish the girl if she continued with this attitude, but it would be a fair standard punishment that would show she meant business.

“No. My name isn’t _Freda_.” The little girl spat the name with such disgust, that Ms. Jones started to believe her if only a little bit. 

“Then can you tell me what your name is?” The girl scowled but didn’t say anything more.

“If you can’t tell me your name, I’m going to have to have a talk with Mr. Peters. You don’t want that now do you?” Ms. Jones asked gently, the girl scowled and shook her head.

“Now I don’t want that either, so all you have to do is tell me, and we can continue on with class.” Ms. Jones waited through another thirty seconds of silence before sighing. She pulled out her cracked radio and called for a backup while she brought the girl down to the vice principal’s office. The girl glared at her the whole way and Ms. Jones honestly didn’t know how to deal with this refusal to talk. She sat the girl down in one of the chairs next to an older boy with an equally grim frown. His clothes were several sizes too big, and he was holding a bag of frozen vegetables to his chin. For a moment, Ms. Jones wondered if the little girl would be safe sitting next to him, but quickly realized that she no other choice if she wanted to speak to the VP alone. After giving the girl a stern reminder to stay there, she left her in the chair furthest from the boy and entered the office. 

“So you met Freda.” Mr. Peters stated, looking far too overworked.

“So that is her name. She lied and refused to work with me this morning.” Ms. Jones stated, trying to stand taller. Mr. Peters snorted.

“Look. Amelia was it? Right. Freda is the least of your problems. She brings her whole class’s average reading level up. She’s mostly silent, doesn’t start fights with the other kids, and can be trusted to hold scissors for more than five seconds without hurting anyone. Aside from refusal to answer to her name, she has displayed no attention disorders, behavior disorders, or any other condition that we know of. She is going to be your ideal student. There are kids in your class who are actually going to need to be sent to me for discipline and she is not one of them.” The man said with a deep sigh, Ms. Jones was offended on the principle of the matter.

“She clearly needs attention. What do her parents have to say about this?” She demanded. Mr. Peters snorted.

“Look. I know your new and all but you need to realize that no one’s parents are going to get involved, least of all hers. Freda was found wandering the streets about a year ago. They have no record of her name or family. Her last name was assigned to her by the system. Apparently, she told her caseworker that her name was Freda, but has refused to be associated with the name ever since. And she’s not special around here. Take the kid out there. That’s Jason. He has no father in the picture and on the rare days when his mother shows up to pick him up, she’s high as a kite. When we try talking to her about the fact that her son picks a fight with every kid who he thinks is so much as giving him a weird look.” Ms. Jones was speechless for a moment before alarm set in.

“We need to get Freda away from-” She started to say, but Mr. Peters snorted.

“She’s fine. Jason also has a tendency to only pick fights with kids who are significantly bigger than him. He also has been known to pick fights with anyone who he catches bullying the younger kids. That, and they’re neighbors. He walks her home every day. He’s not a bad kid.” Mr. Peters said dismissively.

“How can you be so casual about this?” Ms. Jones asked, horrified at his casual dismissal. 

“It comes with the job. If you can’t handle it, then wait until the end of the year to quit. There's no chance of finding someone new until the next batch of desperate rookies graduate in spring.” Mr. Peters rolled his eyes.

“Now get back to your class and take Freda with you. I need to call Jason’s mother, not that she’ll answer.” Mr. Peters said the last more to himself than anything and ended the conversation by picking up the phone and dialing a number from memory. Ms. Jones left the office, stunned. Freda had, in fact, moved. She was sitting next to Jason with her feet dangling off the chair. The boy-Jason-threw his head back and laughed. 

“Dem’s fightin words pipsqueak. Ya don’ wanna pick a fight wit me.” To Ms. Jones’s horror, he gave her a shark’s grin and flicked the child on the nose. 

“Freda! It’s time to go back to class.” Freda’s face shut down and she scowled fiercely, as Ms. Jones grabbed her wrist to pull her away from the violent boy as quickly as possible. The delinquent boy rolled his eyes and waved at the Freda as she was yanked away. To Ms. Jones’s horror, Freda, a seven-year-old, gave him the middle finger in return, the boy cackled.

“Freda!”


	2. Chapter 2

Red shivered in the hoodie currently draped around her. It came down to her knees. She pulled it tighter and glared at the receding sun. Jason smirked slightly at her like an ass. She shifted her glare toward him. They both knew what she looked like when she borrowed his hoodie. It was way too big on him and when she wore it… Well, Red didn’t want to think about that either. Considering how possessive Jason was of his stuff, Red suspected the only reason he ever lent his clothes to her was that he thought it was hilarious. Well, because he thought it was hilarious and she didn’t have a coat. 

Red swallowed her pride and stepped closer to the boy. He was big enough to block out the worst of the wind and also radiated heat. They’d been out for too many hours already, and she was _cold_. Walking by foot, they traveled to any location in Gotham that attracted tourists and was not patrolled as heavily by cops. From there Red had to play sad, cold, distracting waif while Jason lifted wallets and jewelry. Despite missing school and the free lunch that came with it, they’d managed to make enough for their goal, and have just enough leftover to split a chili dog between the two of them. Now, after walking all the way back, and selling the jewelry to a ‘friend’ of Jason’s mom, they were nearing their goal for today’s venture.

They ducked into a nameless thrift shop, Red had no idea if it was actually nameless, but between the graffiti and the wear of time, no name was visible on the outside or inside. They weaved through the overflowing shelves of useless junk and isles of ratty, threadbare clothes before stopping in front of a small section of winter apparel. 

“Paying customers only.” A deep male voice called out from the cash register. 

“We’re here to buy.” Red bit out, it sounded a bit weird, but she’d been practicing her Gotham accent. Sounding posh brought far too much trouble. The man at the register snorted.

“Sure. Run along kiddies.” He clearly wasn’t going to let them stay, so Jason sighed and held up a couple of ones. The man rolled his eyes, but left them to their shopping, keeping an eye on their hands and pockets.

Jason pulled out tiny coats first, occasionally holding one up to Harry and checking the price. While he searched, Harry dug through the gloves, trying to find pairs without holes that wouldn’t slow down her or Jason’s sticky fingers. Jason finally handed her a dark blue one with only a couple stains on it, that wasn’t near as flat as the others. She held it at arm's length and handed him a pair of gloves to try on. It looked to be only a little bit too big. Red wasn’t sure that she’d get more than one or two winters out of it before she outgrew it.

“Ya sure bout this one?” She asked doubtfully. Jason nodded as he carefully examined the gloves.

“Its gonna drop ta freezin soon. ‘S da warmest one that won't be a dress on ya.” Jason smirked at her scowl and pulled out another grey coat in his size. It was even thicker than hers. Red picked up gloves for herself and then added up the cost of what they’d chosen. She was better with numbers than Jason so he didn’t even question it when she gave them an estimate on how much they could spend between hats and scarves.

Red piled up their goods on the counter and paid the man, carefully counting their change while Jason shoved their haul into a garbage bag. Counting up the change, Red sighed in relief. They had exactly enough for their last stop of the day. She nodded to Jason, conveying the message and watched relief grow on his face as well. 

They slipped out and continued their journey in the direction of their apartment complex. Finally, about a block away from their home, they ducked into a laundry mat. Red converted their remaining bills into coins and walked back to where Jason was stuffing their haul into the smallest washer. 

“We don’t got enough for detergent.” She muttered. 

“Not a big deal. Sweater off.” Jason commanded as he pulled his own sweater off and shoved it into the machine. Sighing, Red pulled hers off and handed it to him. 

“I get the stuff we bought. But why our shit too? It cooooold.” She grumbled.

“The goal is ta murder the fuck outta whatevers livin in that shit. Our shit touched them so unless ya wanna risk dealin wit em, your washin it. And your wearin my shit so I get to decide how its goin down.” Jason drawled while adjusting settings on the washer as hot as it would go. 

“Uuugh okaaaaay. Its still fuckin cold.” Red grumbled, rubbing at her arms.

“Jus you wait n see till the snow hits tomorrow then you’ll be all _ooh Jason gimme your shit I'm really cold_.” Jason’s voice got mocking and high pitched at the end, causing Red to shove her fist into his gut. Jason let out an oomf and laughed at her. 

“Now pony up the coins.” He demanded, making gimme gestures with his hands for good measure. Red slapped the hands away and began loading the coins into the washer herself.

As soon as the machine roared to life, Jason picked her up and set her on a higher level shelf that had her cursing him out. Then, he pulled a small paperback out of his pocket and hopped up on shelf next to her. The title read: _The Adventures of Robin Hood_. Despite how annoyed she was at being manhandled, her hoodie was gone and Jason radiated heat. Red pressed herself up against his side and squinted at the words on the page.

“Glasses in your backpack?” Jason asked curiously. She nodded. They’d left their backpacks in Jason’s apartment this morning. The Wayne Foundation had paid for her glasses and Jason was fully aware of how petrified she was of breaking them. She had never known what it was like to see clearly before that eye exam and Red much preferred to be nearly blind on the streets if it meant that she could read clearly in her admittedly shitty classroom. Jason quietly began reading the book to her. Red smiled and listened carefully, letting Jason’s voice wash over her.

. . .

Red startled awake as Jason shifted next to her. She quickly joined him in pulling their clothes out of the drier. Thankfully everything survived being dried. She yanked Jason’s hoodie on and pulled her new coat on overtop. The lingering heat from the dryer was absolutely lovely. Jason smirked at her happy sigh, but she ignored him, basking in the warmth of her clothes. Glancing at the murky darkness outside, Red realized that it had become later than expected. 

The pair quickly left the laundromat and skirted through dark streets. Without a word between them, they avoided various individuals loitering in the alleys between them and their home. They ducked into the front door of their building just as Jason caught some people across the street giving them a little too much attention for his liking. Reaching the relative safety of the apartment complex was not the end of their journey, however. From there, they had seven floors worth of stairs. Stairs that Jason went up first, checking to make sure that certain individuals were not out and about as they moved upwards. Only moderately out of breath, they arrived on Jason’s floor. Slipping into Jason’s dark, icy cold, two-bedroom apartment caused a release in tension in both Red and Jason. Jason locked the door behind them and Red began digging around in the kitchen, looking for the rice that Jason had stashed about a week ago. 

“Its in the bottom to the left. The only door without a crack in it.” Jason called out to her and heard a victorious noise a moment later. Jason made a quick round of the apartment, checking the windows and separate spaces for anything out of place.

“Is your water turned on?” Red called out and Jason swore.

“It fucking better be.” Jason shouted back and rushed into the bathroom, only to discover that the water was, in fact, turned off.

“I reminded her five goddamned times last week.” Jason hissed out through his teeth. 

He walked back to the kitchen, feeling a little bit embarrassed. Red gave him a concerned look.

“Think you’ll have heat this weekend? Cause its gonna get cold.” 

“No fuckin clue.” Jason sighed. 

“Well, I’m pretty sure that Frank is gonna be out early tomorrow so as long as you sleep under the bed you can probably sleep in my room and get a shower tomorrow. I don’t think that the others’ll mind, seein as I got plenty more dirt on them then they got on me.” Red replied with a shrug.

“Naw. I don know if mom’s comin home tonight and I don’t want to her pass out without at least a blanket or somethin ta keep her warm if she's not feelin good and it's gettin cold. I might take you up on the shower though.” Jason replied, running his hand through his greasy hair. 

“‘K then I’ll head out for the night.” Red said slowly, giving him a dubious look, and casually walking into Jason’s bedroom. With practiced familiarity, Red worked the window open and slipped out onto the fire escape. She silently worked her way down to the level below and peaked in the window. _Oh, fucking hell_. Her seventeen-year-old roommate, Claire was in the room. Claire was not alone. Claire was with her creepy drug-dealing boyfriend. Neither were wearing clothes. They were engaged in _strenuous activity_. Red took a deep breath, let out every curse word she knew in English, Spanish, Russian, and Italian, then proceeded to make her way back up to Jason’s apartment. Luckily, Jason had his head peaked out over the fire escape, probably to make sure she made it back in okay. Red wordlessly reentered Jason’s bedroom.

“So Frank definitely ain't home. No clue about Carla though.” She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

“ _Fucking Hell_ I need brain bleach.” Jason raised an eyebrow at her.

“Claire and her boyfriend were fucking on my goddamned bed. If I weren’t sure hers were just as _fucking_ contaminated. I would make the bitch switch with me.” Jason’s lips quirked slightly. 

“Oh _Fuck_ off you asshat. I don’t care if I get goddamned hypothermia, I ain't goin back there tonight.” She hissed at him.

“So you’re traumatized by Claire ‘fucking contaminating your bed by fucking’ so traumatized that your fleeing to the bed of an older man?” Jason’s lips were twitching.

“It’s not fuc-funny you bastard.” She hissed, and Jason lost it, guffawing uncontrollably as laughter shook his person. Red let out an incoherent noise of rage and threw a pillow at his face.

“I’m going to bed.” She growled and threw herself down on Jason’s bed.

“Hey take your shoes off first that's gross. I know where those shoes have been.” Jason managed to stop laughing and grabbed her ankle before she could vanish under his cover. Red lazily tried to kick free, but Jason caught her ankle and twisted so that he could sit on her legs, trapping her in place.

“Hey, your place is freezin” Red protested as Jason yanked her shoes off one at a time.

“JASON YOU ASS! LET ME GO!” Red shrieked a moment later when Jason began to torment the soles of her feet instead of letting them go. 

“Nu-uh this is what you get fer tryin ta stick your grubby shoes in my bed.” Jason laughed and continued to torment her poor defenseless feet. 

Red tried to shout more but couldn’t find words as Jason switched from her feet to ribs, fully pinning her in place as he moved and enacting merciless revenge for her heinous crime of daring to put dirty shoes in his bed. Red had no idea how long they went at it, but the click of the front door opening had them both falling silent instantly. 

“Jason? Is Freda here?” A tired hazy feminine voice called from the entry. Jason paused.

“Yeah, Mom. She’s staying the night.” He called back neutrally.

“‘Kay. Did you kids play with the thermostat? You should know better, Jason.” Came the now berating voice.

“No Mom. You forgot to pay the heating bill.” Jason called back, white-knuckling his bedsheet in annoyance.

“Nonsense sweetie. I paid it last week. There must be some mistake. I’ll give the heating company a call tomorrow and tell them they made a mistake but Mommy’s really tired right now. Do you two have enough blankets?” The woman called back. 

“Yeah. Were fine. Did you bring any dinner with you by chance?” Jason lied before asking a question he already knew the answer to.

“I’m so sorry sweetie. I thought you would've eaten earlier. I promise I’ll bring extra back tomorrow. Enough for you and Freda both.” She called out distractedly. Jason sighed.

“Thanks, Mom.” 

“Course sweetie.” She called back. Jason quietly handed Red an extra sweater and a pair of socks. 

“Stay ‘ere. I’m gonna go get her ta bed.” He murmured softly. She nodded and pulled on the extra layers while Jason stepped out.

. . . 

Red slipped back into her much warmer room the next morning. Carla and her boyfriend were passed out together, so Red waved Jason down. They moved with swift teamwork, Red checking corners then waving Jason through until he was safely ensconced in the bathroom. Jason would be showered and out in less than eight minutes. Until then, Red chose to scout the quiet apartment out. 

She found her other ‘foster sister’ Mia asleep on the threadbare sofa in the shared space. The boy’s room was more lively. Jake was passed out in his bed, but the twins were up and dressing for their part-time job. They scowled and shooed her away. Red shrugged and continued on her search. How CPS was willing to let six kids share four twin beds and a couch was beyond her. Lastly, Red carefully peeked into Carla and Frank’s room. Carla was indeed still asleep in their bed, but it appeared that Frank was still out. Perfect. 

With Frank out, Red made her way to the kitchen much more recklessly and pulled some bran flakes out of the cupboard. The milk in the fridge was expired so Red kept searching. She found some slightly moldy bread and ripped the bad parts off. Then she used the last of the peanut butter to make four peanut butter and bran flake sandwiches. Breakfast and lunch for the road. At that point, Jason wandered back in with damp hair, but wearing the same change of clothes. He wrinkled his face up at the sight of her masterpieces. 

“Red. No. Why would you do that?” He whined, but accepted the hoard. 

“You’ll eat my cooking or starve. Your choice. Now get gone before someone sees ya. I’ll be up when I’m done.” Red smirked as Jason rolled his eyes but made his way back out with the sandwiches, while she took her turn in the shower. By the time she slipped out the window and returned to Jason’s room, a small dusting of snow settled over the fire escape. Damn. If they got dumped on, or if this got icy, Jason was gonna start making her go through the front door. Red internally grumbled. Then she’d lose her stealth game.

“So what’s the plan?” Jason asked spewing the sandwich he was currently chomping on. They’d wrapped themselves up in their new coats and were seated in his kitchen. 

“Well, Ms. Castillo wanted us to help her with her groceries today. She’s gonna make her Chili and promised us each some if we helped. I don know bout you but a day’s work is a cheap ass price for that shit.” Red hummed as Jason nodded along. 

“And the snow’s gonna fuck everythin up by tonight so I don think there’s much point ta goin out.” Red finished. 

“Yeah sounds good. Do ya still got that book from the library? Or did Carla find it and bring it back?” Jason asked curiously. Red gave him a flat look.

“It's under your bed Jason.” 

“What the fuck? Ya mean I coulda been readin it this whole fuckin time?” He hissed out, looking like a huffy cat. Red snorted. 

“That's why I left it here dumbass.” She retorted.

“This whole fuckin time?” He repeated incredulously.

“This whole fuckin time.” Red confirmed with a smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

Red stared down at the newspaper she’d plucked from a distracted street vendor. _Bruce Wayne: Foster Dad Twice?!_ The headline read. All the news outlets were losing their collective shit over Bruce Wayne taking in Jason Todd, a street rat. Red just stared. It’d been nearly two months since she’d witnessed _goddamned_ **_Batman_** kidnap her brother while she could only watch in horror from afar.

This.

This meant.

Bruce fucking Wayne was fucking _Batman_. 

Some paparazzi asshat managed to snap a picture of Jason looking like a dumbass deer in headlights. Besides being wholly overwhelmed and unhappy with the attention, he looked healthier than she’d seen him since before his mom died. 

Red stared for another long moment before crumpling up the paper and tossing it aside. Whatever. It’s not like she needed him anyway. It was probably for the best, if Frank caught her sneaking him in even one more time, he swore he’d beat the shit outta botha ‘em. Now they both had roofs over their heads and solid food sources. This was fine. 

Red carefully slipped a rock into her backpack as she cut through another alley on her journey toward school. Ever since Jason stopped coming to school the kids who hated him (ie most of the school) thought that they could suddenly start taking out their issues with him on her. That was also fine. She knew how to throw a punch and take a hit. She was good. There were a couple bigger boys over by the school entrance. Red immediately detoured. Ms. Elliot always left her classroom window open when it started getting warm. She could still get in. 

Everything was _fine_.

. . . 

Red was sitting on her fire escape breathing the smell of a burning cigarette. They were fucking disgusting to actually smoke, but she liked the smell of them. It had nothing to do with Jason. She was completely over that asshole. Red stiffened when she felt someone climbing down the fire escape from above. She almost slipped back into her room when a quiet familiar voice called out.

“Red? That you?” Jason whispered. Rage coursed through her. She tossed the cigarette over the side and started climbing back inside. 

“Fuck off.” She hissed and slammed her window shut. The next forty-five minutes were spent with her sitting on her ratty couch in the living room. Every time she poked her head back into her bedroom, there he was. The asshole was just casually sitting on her fire escape, smoking his way through a pack of cigarettes, waiting for her to come back out. _That Fucker_. 

Finally, she slammed the window back open.

“What the fuck? Go away you asshat.” She hissed. Jason fucking beamed at her.

“Hey!” He smiled happily and fucking scooted over. With a deep angry sigh, she climbed out and sat next to him. 

“What do you want?” She grumbled.

“I wanted to come check on you.” He smiled at her before a guilty, sheepish look crossed his face.

“Sorry about taking so long. Bruce is- well, Bruce has been really great and we had this delicate balance going on. This was the first time since I got there that I thought I could actually sneak out without getting caught on my way out.” He spoke quietly.

“They ain't lettin ya leave?” She found herself asking.

“Naw nothin like that. It’s just… Bruce or Alfie’ll ask me where I’m goin, then I’ll hafta lie ta their faces, they’re like fuckin lie detectors and they’ll ask why I don think I can trust them, and it turns inta a real shitshow. Then they’ll let me leave anyway, but I know they’re still watchin me cause they’re sneaky fucks. And it just kinda goes down like that. I’m sorry Red.” He rambled, trying to explain.

“Whose Alfie?” Red asked, still mad but needing to know Jason was okay. His answering grin was more relieving then she realized.

“Alfred Pennyworth. He’s Bruce’s butler and basically the coolest human being to ever exist. He’s like Bruce’s dad in every way that counts and Bruce fuckin _fears_ him. It’s awesome. He’s been teaching me to bake too. Ever since I showed him the right way to make chili and explained what chili dogs were, we’ve been cookin dinner together near every night. He’s like super nice too. When Bruce ain't there he helps me with my homework- Oh I didn’t tell ya about school. Bruce is sendin me to this posh rich kid school and it fuckin awesome. They just _give_ you books to read and let ya take em home without a fuss. And like the books have all they’re pages and everything. And there’s like no writing in ‘em and fuck. I don know what they’re thinking but Bruce and Alfred set up this _giant_ fuckin bookshelf in my room a couple a weeks ago. It's fuckin fantastic. An they’re like, fillin it with bran fuckin new books. Every time I give Alfie another paper that I aced, we go online and he buys me a new book. He even lets me game the system. Last week Alfie bought me a book that was like- the complete works of Goddamned _Shakespeare_. And now Alfie’s been leaving flyers around the house for this after school theatre program. And holy fuck Red I think I’m gonna try out. And- Red?” Suddenly Jason’s animated ranting cut off and he gave her a nervous look. Like he was worried she was gonna say something.

Red’s mind was currently rebooting. Jason had never look this happy. Like ever. And here Red was sulking that he hadn’t visited. That he had risked the best fucking thing to ever happen to him for her sake. She moved without conscious thought, wrapping her arms around him.

“Jason that’s great! Why the fuck didja come back. Don’t you fucking dare risk a life like that just visit me. Holy fuck. You look like the sun, Jason. Get your ass back before they realize you snuck out.” Red found herself scolding him. What is this even?

“Hey now. Your like- my lil' sis Red I ain't gonna ditch ya.” Jason sounded offended at the thought. Then he dug around in the small bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out-

“Are those cookies?” Red blinked in surprise.

“Well ya. I figured you’d be pissed as hell. Which ya were by the way. So I brought gifts. Made ‘em myself.” Jason looked pretty pleased with himself. The two took a minute to munch on the cookies, Red nearly choked on how fuckin good they were, Jason was insufferably smug about the whole thing. After a long moment of relaxed silence, Red decided to address the elephant in the room.

“So. What’s the catch? Is Wayne gonna make you be Robin or somthin?” She asked slowly. Jason inhaled the cookie he was eating and choked. 

“Ya know I had a real clever excuse for why Batman snatched me and I ended up with Bruce.” Jason grumbled after getting his voice back.

“Mmhmm.” Red hummed, giving him a dubious look.

“Okay first. Bruce is like some sorta goodie two shoes dogooder. He ain't makin me do nothin. He said that he just wanted ta gimme a warm place ta stay. Robin was optional. He didn’t make me take it. I’m training ta be Robin cause I want to.” Jason insisted. Red gave him a doubtful look.

“As long as your happy Jay.” She finally decided. He grinned at her and pulled out another bag of cookies and an envelope.

“I’m not gonna be able to sneak out again for some time, and this is what I managed to scrounge up.” Jason looked nervous, so Red gave him a suitably doubtful look. She carefully opened the envelope and choked. There were eighty-two dollars in there.

“What the fuck Jason.” She hissed. This was way too much.

“Hey, I know what I’m doing Red. Ya need that way more’n me right now. Take it.” Jason insisted. Also tucked into the envelope was a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

“That’s the Wayne Manor phone number. I think Bruce is gonna get me a phone soon, but someone’ll always answer that number. I want you ta call if ya ever need something kay?” Jason demanded seriously. Red thought back to the kids hunting her at school, Frank and Carla’s impending divorce, Frank’s drinking, the nasty bruise on her thigh, her creepy neighbor who’d starting giving her creepy looks, her new foster brother who’d threatened her with a knife the other day, the lightbulb that exploded when she’d gotten angry, and the multitude of other things going wrong in her life right now. 

“Yeah, I’ll call if I need you.” Red lied through her teeth. Too bad she was a much better liar than Jason. He grinned in relief. Then, Red got to spend the next couple hours hearing about Jason’s new perfect life, all while insisting that nothing’s changed in her life. After all, it wasn’t like she’d just watched half her soul galavant off into the sunset without her. 

Red was fine.

. . . 

Red was not fine. 

Red stared at the phone in front of her and back to the police officer who was watching her from across the room. They weren’t going to let her leave until someone came to get her. They didn’t realize she had no one to call, but they would soon if she didn’t pick up that phone and start dialing. If no one came to get her then shit was gonna actually hit the fan. 

Jason’s number came to her mind, seven digits she’d memorized months ago. She didn’t want Jason to see her like this, but who else could she call. Fuck it. She took a deep breath and punched in the numbers. The phone seemed to ring forever before an elderly British man answered the phone.

“Wayne Residence.” Red sucked in a breath, for some reason, she’d been expecting Jason to answer.

“Um hi. Is Jason there?” She asked quietly.

“May I ask who is calling?” The voice asked.

“Um, I’m one of his friends. From school. I need to talk to him about a project we’re working on together.” Red lied.

“I’m afraid Master Jason is unavailable right now, I can take a message if you wish?” The man offered.

“ _Fuck_ \- I- sorry. No. That um. That won’t be necessary. I just. _Shit._ ” Red cursed without thinking, she only had one phone call. She was so fucked. She didn’t even have the option of calling anyone else now. Not that she had anyone to call.

“Miss are you alright?” The voice sounded much more concerned now. Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just. I just really needed to talk to Jay about the- The school project.” Red lied weakly. Her voice was hoarse. She was so fucked.

“Miss if you require assistance I am more than capable of getting you help. May I ask where you are right now?” The voice was kind and it took Red less than a moment to realize that this was probably Alfred, Jason’s butler-person. 

“Um. I’m fine. Thanks for offering but I don’t need any help. You don’t need to tell Jason anything. I’ll talk to him tomorrow at school. Thank you, um, sir.” Red hung up a moment later and took a deep breath. She walked back over to the police officer.

“My dad’s coming to get me. He might be a little while though. He has to leave work and take the bus across the city.” Red made her lie much more believable this time. This would give her two or three hours max to find a way out of here before they realized no one was coming. The overworked officer sighed.

“Why don’t you wait over there, Kelsie.” The officer pointed to a row of chairs in the waiting area. Red nodded and took a seat, scoping out the area. Carefully planning an escape route. 

Thirty minutes later, her chance came when two officers escorted a huge, loud, and possibly high man into the building. He was shouting incoherently and drawing all the attention to them. While a few officers including the one in charge of watching her moved to assist them. Red slipped out the door and walked to the exit as fast as possible without drawing attention. She swung the door open and almost walked straight into _Bruce Fucking Wayne_. She skidded to a halt and tried to duck around him only to find herself face to face with a frowning Jason. They stared at each other in shock for a second and Jason opened his mouth to say something only to be interrupted by a shout from behind her, had Red glancing back. Shit, the officer noticed she was gone. Before she could bolt. Wayne’s hand closed around her arm. _Fuck_. 

“Let me go.” She hissed, at the same time the officer charged up and demanded.

“Where do you think you're going? Is this your dad?” The question was barely out of her mouth before she realized who she was speaking to. 

“Oh, Mr. Wayne. Sorry about this. I’ll take her off your hands. Are you here to speak to Commissioner Gordon about something?” The office gave him a polite, apologetic smile before grabbing her by the wrist. 

“Actually I’m here for Freda.” Red felt herself bristle at the name god she hated that name.

“Freda?” The officer looked confused for a moment before giving her an incredulous look.

“Really kid? You do realize lying to an officer is a criminal offense right?” Red rolled her eyes and glared at all of them as the officer ushered them inside.

“We were waiting for her guardian to come get her. I’m assuming she called you? Are you in contact with her guardian?” The officer asked, giving her a look. Red scowled back at her. 

“She’s one of my son’s friends. I don’t know her guardians. Jason told me that their names were Frank and Carla but, didn’t know their last names, unfortunately. I’m more than willing to sign her out of your care though.” Bruce gave her a ‘what-can-you-do?’ shrug and a charming smile. 

“Well for starters, I’m going to need her actual name for the report.” The officer sighed as they arrived at his desk and he logged into his bulky computer. 

“Freda Smith. Can you tell me what happened?” Bruce smiled apologetically when Red refused to talk or look at either him or Jason. The officer gave Red a sad look and Red froze. He wouldn’t. That’s like- supposed to be confidential information of something. She’s a minor damnit. 

“She was caught shoplifting. I would really like to have a talk with her guardians, considering what she stole.” The officer seemed torn and Red felt her face flush.

“What did she steal?” Bruce asked, looking innocently concerned, Red didn’t look at Jason.

“Underwear, tampons, aspirin, and two bags of Cheetos. The manager doesn’t want to press charges given the nature of the crime and, well. You can see why I would really like to speak with her guardians.” The officer spoke seriously as he plugged away at his computer. Red could feel Jason’s eyes boring a hole into her, but she kept her face blank and looked away. Her face was hot, but she ignored everything.

“Oh. Mr. Wayne, I believe you are mistaken about her living situation.” The officer gave him a stern look now. 

“Ms. Smith hasn’t lived with Frank Miller in nearly three months. She was living in a group home before she was reported missing. You’re not going to be able to sign her out. I’m going to have to call her caseworker.” The asshole looked apologetic, but not that apologetic. Red kept her face blank and didn’t look at either of them. Wayne broke the silence.

“Officer Murphy was it? Right, as I’m sure you're aware, I’m a registered foster parent. I’m sure you aren’t going to be able to find a place for her this late, but she’s more than welcome in my home. I’m sure we’d all feel much better if she didn’t need to spend the night at the station.” Red whipped around to look at Wayne incredulously, this, unfortunately, led to her making eye contact with Jason. He was looking at her like she’d beaten a puppy in front of him. Distantly, she was aware that Wayne and the officer were still talking, but all she could see was Jason and his stupid face. 

“What happened to Frank and Carla?” Jason blurted out, interrupting the conversation after a long moment of staring. Wayne gave the officer an encouraging nod.

“Well, according to the records, Mr. Miller was deemed to be an unsuitable guardian after an incident occurred in the household and I’m afraid all the children had to be removed. Ms. Johnson has been divorced from Mr. Miller for nearly six months and has not been in the picture for some time.” Jason gave her another betrayed look.

“Incident?” Wayne asked, looking concerned and curious.

“I’m not at liberty to discuss ongoing police investigations. Freda’s caseworker might have more to say on the matter but you’ll have to talk to her about it.” Officer Murphy replied with a shrug. 

“Of course.” Wayne agreed heartily and Red tuned them out as the two began discussing details of her case. Jason was clearly trying to ask her something with the power of his eyes alone, but Red was not receiving the message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So plot happened. . . Yay for an update! I'm working on a couple different things right now but my schedule cleared up because of corona virus so we'll see if I get more stuff out soon! Stay safe everyone and wash hands often!
> 
> Also: What are people more interested in for part three of this somewhat unrelated series, I have ideas for a crossover where Dick and male!Harry are long lost cousins, and one where Vernon Dursley is Janet Drake's brother (also male!Harry)? I haven't really gotten anywhere with either one yet and am really bad at slash fics, but love family fluff fics.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings at the end
> 
> Also: I have been told that I use too many adverbs when I write. I think that they add style. What do you all think? This is a super small request for constructive criticism on my use of adverbs. Please don't crush my soul.

“So. Jason says that you don’t like being called Freda?” Wayne broke the heavy silence. She and Jason were sitting in the back seat of his freaking Porsche while Bruce drove. It had taken less than an hour for her caseworker to get there and even less time after that for Bruce to be made her temporary guardian. 

“That’s not my goddamn name.” Red found herself hissing reflexively. 

“What would you like to be called then?” Wayne asked without any noticeable annoyance. She scowled at him.

“Jason calls me Red.” She found herself saying after it became clear that Wayne was going to wait until she answered. 

“Is that what you want to be called?” Wayne asked again.

“It’s better than fucking _Freda_.” Red spit the name out with venom. 

“So Red is your preferred name?” Wayne wanted confirmation.

“Holy Fuck. Red is fine.” She bit out. After several more minutes, Jason broke the silence.

“B where are we going?” His tone indicated that they were not heading to the Wayne Manor like she assumed. 

“We're just making a quick stop.” Wayne replied casually, and they pulled into a well-lit parking lot moments later. Red didn’t know where they were, but it was far nicer than anywhere else she’d been before. 

“Can you two wait in here for a couple of minutes?” He gave them both a reassuring smile and walked into the late-night convenience mart. 

There was another long, awkward, silence.

“What happened with Frank?” Jason asked. Red blinked at him, of all the questions she expected him to start with, that wasn’t it.

“There was a new boy, Georgie. He and Frank disagreed. Frank’s been drinking a lot more than, well before. Frank was drunk, and Georgie disagreed with him being drunk, and shit got real loud. Then me an Alex- Alex was pretty new to the system and Alex an Georgie were real close. Anyway- me an Alex dragged Georgie to the nearest E.R and then the nurses called the cops. Alex fuckin narced on Frank an now Frank’s sitting in prison with a fuckton of charges hangin over ‘im. So that was that.” Red shrugged at the end. Jason had a disbelieving look on his face.

“Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” He demanded. Now that was a question she’d been expecting.

“Cause its nona yo damn business that why.” She glared at him.

“None of my- Of course it's my business. Your my best fucking friend. Do you even know how freaked I was when Alfie called me n’ B?” He glared back.

“No. ‘cause we don’t talk anymore. We shouldn’t be talkin now either ‘cause your fuckin butler shouldn't a called you. I don’t need your help. I was fine on my own. Ya know what. I still am fine on my own.” Red snarled at him and grabbed the door handle. Jason shot out and grabbed her wrist.

“Where the fuck do ya think your goin?” He demanded. Red narrowed her eyes.

Six minutes later a very unimpressed Bruce Wayne swung the backseat door open and stared. Jason and Red were contorted in a flailing pile of limbs and angry pre-teen angst. Jason was trying and failing to lock her in a pin that Bruce showed him two weeks ago. Red had one hand trapped by Jason but the other was fisted in his hair, yanking painfully. Jason was shouting.

“Stop. Fucking. Biting. You’re comin back with us. You’re gonna eat your weight in goddamned cookies. And you’re gonna fuckin like it. You’re way too fucking scrawny.” Jason growled and Red released her teeth from his wrist long enough to hiss back,

“You can take your fucking cookies and shove them up your ass you dickhead. You don’t tell me what to do.” she seethed back, Bruce cleared his throat loudly, seeing as opening the car door wasn’t enough.

“Not now B. I’m busy showing this little ungrateful _fucker_ that just cause I’m not beating the shit outta every asshole who messes wit us, I still can and still _will_ sit on her until she remembers that I am older and smarter than her.” Jason seethed, and Bruce blinked in surprise.

“Don’t you fucking dare you _asshole_.” Red thrashed underneath him, as Jason completed his pin, trapping her underneath him, and adjusted so he was sitting on her. Jason looked more smug and pleased with himself than Bruce had ever seen him in their entire relationship. Then, he farted. Loudly. 

Bruce stared in disbelief. 

The string of curses that came out of Red’s mouth had Bruce’s mouth part in pure shock. If anything, Jason looked even more smug. Some part of Bruce’s mind started shouting that this was possibly the first time since he lived with Bruce that Jason was truly acting like a child. But the louder part of his mind reminded him that Jason had bought a sketchy chili dog off the street just before they had gotten the call from Alfred, and the fumes he just released might actually be poisonous to human inhalation. Red’s curses tapered off into a hacking gag and Bruce decided that as important as it was to encourage Jason to act his age, she might actually die.

“Jason get off of her.” Bruce kept his voice stern. Jason’s smug smirked died, and he gave him a pleading look.

“Come on B. She’s bein a little shit.” Jason protested, and Bruce honestly couldn’t believe they were having this conversation.

“Jason you're being rude. You cannot just-” He but stopped when Jason’s evil grin came back full force. He farted again.

“I can’t just what? B ya gotta be specific.” Bruce sighed deeply.

“You can’t hold people down and fart on them. It’s rude.” Why did he ever decide to be a dad? Alfred was right. Jason beamed at him. Oh right, that’s why.

“All ya had ta do was say so B.” then he slid off the girl and back into his seat. Red just lay there for a long moment.

“Red? Are you okay?” Bruce found himself asking.

“No. I’m dead inside.” She moaned into the leather seat.

“Well, I bought you some things. We can take you shopping in the morning for everything else.” Bruce spoke slowly, and the girl turned to eye the three smoothies he was holding in a drink caddy and the plastic bags hanging from his other hand. She was so suspicious, but Jason wasn’t that different when he first joined their household. Wordlessly he handed her the two bags. They were filled with different types of feminine hygiene products, chocolate, ice cream, and a small heating pad. Her cheeks went pink, but Bruce hadn’t forgotten the original reason she’d been caught shoplifting. He didn’t know what she preferred but, he was willing to bet that she hadn’t had a chance to explore what worked best for her before now anyway. 

“I have a strawberry, a mango, and a blueberry smoothie. Which one do you want?” He asked with a smile while she sat up and poked through the bags, slapping Jason’s hands away when he tried to look.

“Mango?” her answer was almost a question, but he handed the mango smoothie over easily enough, and gave Jason the strawberry without needing to ask. Then he climbed back into the driver’s seat and the silence on the rest of the way back was much less awkward. 

. . . 

Three weeks later, Batman and Batgirl pulled into the Batcave, after a particularly early night. Alfred was sitting at the computer, and to his surprise, Jason and Red were still up. The two were rolling across the mat in what had probably started as a sparring match. Batgirl went rigid as she climbed out of the car.

“Bruce. Who is that?” Barbara tried to keep her tone calm and curious, but for some strange reason, there was outrage in her voice. Bruce turned and gave her his full attention.

“That’s Red. She’s going to be living with us now.” For some reason, Barbara looked even more upset.

“Since when?” Barbara bit out.

“She’s one of Jason’s childhood friends, she called him for help and has nowhere else to go. I think it’s good that Jason has someone closer to his own age to train with.” Bruce tried to explain calmly, but Barbara’s whole posture screamed anger and agitation now. 

“Is something wrong?” He found himself asking worriedly. Barbara gave him a look that was a mix of incredulity and fury. 

“Are you kidding me? Just when were you going to tell me?” She tried to keep her tone soft, but Bruce could see Alfred shooing Jason and Red out after they started pretending to wrestle so they could eavesdrop. 

“Tell you what? I didn’t think that you would have a problem with this. You didn’t have a problem with Jason.” Bruce felt something sink in his stomach. He hadn’t expected Barbara to have a problem with this. Was it because Red was a girl? Barbara was an only child and the only girl in Bruce’s family until now. That could be it, but it didn’t exactly make sense.

“With Jason!?! I didn’t like it. But that wasn’t my call. This is different.” She bit out and Bruce felt something akin to hurt. Bruce had thought Barbara liked Jason, he was suddenly glad Alfred left with the kids. 

“I thought you liked Jason.” Bruce asked seriously.

“Of course I do, Jason’s a great kid, but it was still a shitty thing to do. This is different though. This is about me.” She argued, still incredulous that Bruce didn’t see what was wrong. 

“Why would this be about you?” Bruce was more than a little confused. Barbara actually hesitated, searching his face for something. Whatever it was, she didn’t find it, because she sagged and sighed guiltily. 

“You’re not training her to be the next Batgirl are you?” Oh. OOOOOh. OOOOOOOOOOOh.

“Of course not. Dick left Robin behind, you didn’t. That girl needed a home and I took her in. She already knew I was Batman because Jason was her best friend and they had a talk at some point. Red isn’t sure if she wants to be a vigilante yet, but she wants to know how to defend herself. Well, that, and she and Jason have merged into a singular being who are never apart for more than fifteen seconds without one of them sulking.” Bruce muttered the last part

“That doesn’t sound healthy.” Barbara meant to apologize or say literally anything else, but that’s what came out. It was apparently the right thing to say though because Bruce looked relieved.

“I know, and I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about this. Alfred and I have been researching this and were worried they have an unhealthy co-dependency. I was hoping that you and Red would get along and that maybe you could take her shopping or something. They’re going to be starting school soon and we thought they could use some practice at being apart.” Bruce ranted, and Barbara let a small smile slip on her face. Concerned Dad was not necessarily a new look on him, but Barbara certainly hadn’t seen it in a long while.

“I’d love to take her out. I’m sure she could use some girl time. What with being surrounded by men all the time.” She gave an exaggerated shudder at the thought. 

“Well then, let's head up so you can meet her.” Bruce nodded, posture much more relaxed now that they worked through their confusion.

“Oh, and Barbara. You are not replaceable. Neither is Dick. I can’t promise that there will never be another Batgirl, but if there is, it will be after you have stepped down from the mantle. I will never fire any of you. Batgirl was yours first and I would never take that from you.” Bruce muttered to her, using up his allotted amount of feelings for the day, plus extra. Barbara stared at his retreating figure, as he disappeared into the changing area.

. . . 

Red let out a deep sigh as she laid sprawled across the kitchen island. Bruce was at work, and Jason was at rehearsal. Bruce and Alfred were worried that she would be a distraction, so she wasn’t allowed to go with Jay. Alfred was gardening out back, but Red didn’t want anything to do with that. She was a city girl. City girls do _not_ garden. She let out another even more dramatic sigh, mourning her abandonment by all things remotely interesting. Part of her was also glad though. She’d been here more than a month and none of them felt the need to keep a close eye on her anymore. She was free to wander about as she pleased and they trusted her not to run off or break something. 

Across the house, she heard the front door open and frowned. No one was due back yet, and Alfred was out back. She pushed herself up and stared at the door hesitantly. Bruce was fucking _Batman_ , there was no way an intruder could just walk in through the front door without setting off some sort of alarm. Right? She hopped off the island and landed with the island between her and the door that led to the front. The door swung open and she tensed. A familiar face peeked cautiously into the kitchen and froze. Red had seen the face plastered across nearly every shelf and hallway in the manor. From a little boy into a handsome man, Red had seen him grow up through the photos of him and Bruce and Barbara and Alfred. Dick _motherfucking_ Grayson. 

“Who are you? Where’s Alfred?” Grayson demanded with a suspicious frown. Red felt her mouth open and close a couple times before she thought of the hurt in Bruce’s eyes every time Dick or Nightwing was mentioned. Then she was annoyed.

“I’m sorry but who are you? And why is that any of _your_ business?” Red demanded and crossed her arms. Grayson looked taken aback at her response.

“I’m Dick Grayson, this is-was my home. Who are you?” Grayson repeated.

“Sorry but Bruce told me not to talk to strangers. I’ve never met you. You're trespassing.” Bruce had told her no such thing, knowing that she was not an idiot. Grayson looked offended now. Good.

“I am not _trespassing_ you little- Where’s Alfred? Who’s watching you?” Grayson wrestled his spoiled only child syndrome back under control. That wouldn’t do at all.

“You definitely are. Bruce has already introduced me to everyone who might possibly be allowed in the manor unannounced. You need to leave before I call the police.” Red had met Barbara and Lucius Fox, that was it. It was kind of sad now that she thought of it. Grayson looked really annoyed now.

“I am a police officer and I am definitely welcome here. My face is literally on the wall.” He pointed at a picture of him and Bruce at what appeared to be Grayson’s high school graduation, framed and hung on a space near the windows. Red made a show of squinting at it, then at Grayson, then at the photo, then at Grayson.

“I don’t see the resemblance. If you’re a police officer, I’m gonna need to see a badge.” Red laced her tone with all the doubt and disbelief she could manage without looking fake. The angry noise that escaped him was music to her ears. After spending so much time with Batman, she was starting to doubt her ability to create a truly reliable poker face. Grayson was reminding her that she still had it. 

“In training. I’m a police officer in training. I don’t have a badge. This is my home. I grew up here.” Grayson seethed and Red edged away suspiciously.

“So you lied about being a police officer. How do I know you’re not lying about being this Dick guy? I mean, I recognize that you’re not lying about being a dick, but I’m pretty sure that Dick isn’t actually a name.” The scathing look Grayson gave her was beautiful. Red knew that there was a hidden camera somewhere behind her, and she was definitely saving this footage to savor for the rest of her probably short life.

“How about, instead of calling the police, you call Alfred, who I am here to visit.” Dick glared.

“Sure, let me just call him.” Red reached for the phone, fully telegraphing her intent to call the police as clearly as she could manage.

“Oh for shit’s sake- Don’t you dare.” Grayson dove for the phone but he was clearly not expecting to deal with any sort of Bat training. She snatched the phone and bolted. He swore and was on her heels a moment later, she resisted the urge to cackle and pressed the undialed phone to her ear.

“Help me! A bad man broke into my house and tried to talk to me about his Dick. Now he’s chasing me-” Dick dive tackled her and she let out the closest impression of a horror movie scream that could manage.

“It’s not what it sounds like she’s my younger foster sister. My name is Dick Grayson and- You didn’t call anyone. You little shit-” Grayson went from shouting into the phone in a horrified panic to staring at her with a look of dumbfounded shock, that was quickly turning into a new beautiful level of annoyance that she very rarely elevated Jason too. 

“ _Master Dick What Do You Think You Are Doing?_ ” And now Alfie was here, sounding more severe than Red had ever heard before. Dick leapt off her as if burned, and started stammering apologies and excuses, trying and failing to form a coherent sentence. Red decided that this would be the perfect time to practice crying on demand. Alfred shot her a look as soon as the first tear fell, which had her re-evaluating all of her life choices until this point. 

“Young Miss I cannot fathom why you did not choose to join Master Jason in pursuing the theater. Your flair for acting and dramatics is unparalleled.” Red tried not to take it as a compliment, considering how peeved Alfie looked.

“Scripts are boring. No one gets to tell me what to do and how to act. Life is about improv Alfie, ya gotta keep it authentic.” Red was still sprawled across the floor, staring up at Alfred who was now staring down at her with a stern expression. Grayson, who was on his feet a short distance away was staring at her with a strange combination of anger, curiosity, and horrified fascination. 

“Who is this Alfred?” Grayson asked, as he visibly pulled his shit together.

“This is Master Bruce’s newest ward. You may address her as Red for the moment. She is a childhood friend of Master Jason and is now his and your younger sister.” Alfred declared giving them both stern glares. Red scowled at the part about her name. Bruce had offered to legally change her name, but she needed to choose something more than the color of her hair to go on official paperwork. Jason had been bringing home baby names books, and spending hours on the internet, offering her hundreds of names. None of them were right though. There were a couple that she’d liked, and Jason had experimented by calling her them for a day or two, but none seemed to fit in the end. 

“Young Miss, please refrain from lying on the floor, someone may trip and injure you if they are not vigilant.” Alfred sighed, breaking her from her train of thought. 

“Puh-lease Alfie. Everyone knows we put the vigilant in vigilante.” Red rolled her eyes, and Dick sucked in a breath.

“Is B replacing Batgirl too?” He demanded angrily. Red rolled her eyes but hopped to her feet in one graceful movement. She only landed that particular move maybe one in four times, but it was worth it to see the look on Grayson’s face.

“You would know if you ever, oh I don’t know, talked to Bruce.” Grayson glared at her, but Alfred intervened before he could come up with a proper retort. 

“Young Miss, please refrain from antagonizing Master Dick. Master Dick, she is barely ten. Please strive to rise above her taunts.” Grayson looked properly abashed, Red stuck her tongue out at both of them, just to prove her maturity.

“Sorry Alfie, I’m just trying to express myself. Babs says that you should always be yourself and that expressing emotion is important no matter what B has to say.” Red felt pretty pleased with her retort, watching how Grayson tensed at her name dropping Babs. 

“And Miss Gordon would be correct, however antagonizing Master Dick is not how you express yourself or your emotions. Now, if you can control yourself for the next hour, I will be having afternoon tea with Master Dick. You are welcome to join us so long as you can behave.” Alfred spoke, his chill game was something to behold.

“Tea? Or Tea and cookies? ‘Cause I remember you tellin Jay this mornin that were all outta cookies. An you aint done any bakin since then.” Red asked suspiciously.

“I will be serving tea and biscuits.” Alfred replied calmly. Red stared him down, but he didn’t crack.

“Naw, I’m good. But if I find out that you've been holdin out on me Alfie, were gonna hafta have a serious talk you and me.” Red decided, entirely serious. You don’t lie about Alfred’s cookies, that had to be like, a mortal sin or something. Grayson snorted at her decision and Red spun and made an ‘I’m-watching-you’ gesture with her fingers. 

“Watch yourself Grayson. You’re already on thin fuckin ice. I can and will bring the ‘popo down on your ass.” 

“Language Young Miss.” Alfred chided and held his hand out.

“Don’t gimme that Alfie, you ‘n I both know I’m already cleaned out for the next two weeks.” Apparently being around Red caused Jason to swear more than usual. Bruce had instituted a swear jar within a day of her arrival. Jason was cleaned out for the next month, so Red was still doing better than him. She’d also pulled several nasty curses outta both Bruce and Babs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warnings: Harry and Jason discuss an adult male drinking off screen and getting violent with a minor. 
> 
> End Note: Woot! Yay for a new chapter! Time is going to start speeding up soon and I am super ready for plot shenanigans.

**Author's Note:**

> So that happened. I'm gonna go write some papers and hope I don't accidentally use slang in them. Cya!


End file.
